


Tavern Studies

by kfab_stories



Series: Dragon Age: Drabbles [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 19:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30144300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kfab_stories/pseuds/kfab_stories
Summary: A collection of short bits of story that come to me while writing my main Dragon Age: Inquisition fanfic. The last time I wrote any kind of fanfiction was over a decade ago. Yes, that makes me both old and real rusty when it comes to writing. The short pieces of fiction in this collection are my beginning attempts to:1. Get back into the flow of writing. (Oh man, it's hard. Where's that easy flow I remember having?!) ;2. Learn to write established characters.
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford & Female Trevelyan, Cullen Rutherford & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Dragon Age: Drabbles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2218674
Collections: In-World Writing Exercises





	Tavern Studies

**Author's Note:**

> Another scene with Cullen that just popped into my head. Writing is going easier the more I do it, so if I don't work on the main fic, I'll at least write one scene every day. So far it's going good and I can definitely see progress. :)

* * *

She sat at one of the larger tables in the tavern, books and scrolls filling the wooden surface. Her head was bent over a book, her finger moving down the page as she read. Her right hand held a quill above a half-filled piece of paper, poised and ready to dip into the ink and start writing. She was completely immersed in her research and didn't notice anything about her surroundings. Maryden could sing a lewd song about her and she wouldn't hear it.

From the bar, Cullen watched her with a small smile on his lips, just a slight tug of the corners of his mouth. He shouldn't feel the way he did, but watching her do something she loved made him happy. But he couldn't - Those feelings had to be buried away, tucked into a special little corner where he would sometimes visit what could have been. Brought to them as someone who needed help, she'd turned into someone who was always helping. She made the lives of many in Skyhold better - including his.

Her brother might be the Herald of Andraste and the Inquisitor, but to many she bore the last title alongside him. He didn't disagree. The way she had protected the people in Haven without regard for her own well-being and later ran off to help Aiden had impressed everyone. During their trek through the mountains she'd continued to help the villagers, even though she had been wounded and tired herself. He thought there might be something else behind it, but he couldn't think of anything. Maybe keeping busy, like he always did to ignore his craving for lyrium? It was still admirable to watch this shy, sheltered woman shake off the habits she'd cultivated over the years just so she could comfort a person she didn't know. She hadn't been idle since arriving at Skyhold, either. Whether it had been helping someone tidy up or removing rubble: she helped where she could.

One of his favorites was when she helped Cabot in the tavern. Cabot always took care of the drinks, but it wasn't until Kaelyn introduced some snacks onto the menu that people started pouring in. She would be in the kitchen whenever she had the time, making some apparently very appetizing things. He'd heard Josephine and Leliana gushing about the tarts she had made a few days earlier. 

He motioned to Cabot and the bartender walked over slowly. "Commander?" came his gruff voice. 

"Two ale," Cullen told him. 


End file.
